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Aylmer, ON, resident Brian Cundle says he captured this photograph of an orange light/object over Lake Erie while standing at the shoreline at the end of Dillon Road, near Dealtown, ON, several years ago. (Contributed photo)

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I received a text last Saturday from a former co-worker, Pete Zubyk, about a strange orange light in the sky over Lake Erie while at Erieau the night before around 10:30-11 p.m.

He described how the light became larger as it approached from the west. He said it stopped then took off upwards. He said the light appeared again about 30 seconds later far way from where it was last seen.

Knowing Pete doesn't drink, I figured he really saw something, so I posted a request on the Chatham Daily News Facebook page to see if anyone else had seen this light.

Turns out three people had seen a similar light last Thursday night.

I also received an e-mail from a local resident, who wished to remain anonymous, stating he and his fiance had seen a strange orange light flying over Chatham on Friday, June 27 between 10-10:30 p.m.

“It was wild....we watched it for upwards of 30 seconds ... a brilliant

orange light tracing across the sky, but not as fast as a shooting

star ... just a steady tempo,” said the e-mail.

“We thought it might be a meteor....but there was not trail.”

He added, “the orange did seem more 'natural' than mechanical ... it did not have any FAA required strobe lights – just an almost soothing orange glow.”

He estimates the light was at about 10,000 feet, adding, “the final bizarre

aspect of our experience is that there wasn't a cloud in the sky and it

was tracking well within our field of view when it suddenly disappeared.”

I also received an interesting e-mail from Brian Cundle, of Aylmer, who provided photographs of an orange light he took from the east shore of Rondeau Provincial Park several years ago and from the beach at the end of Dillon Road near Dealtown.

Cundle said he has spoken to many people over the years who have witnessed strange sightings in the sky in the area.

“You'd be surprised, I think, how many ordinary folk have regularly seen this phenomenon and have kept it to themselves fearing ridicule,” he wrote.

However, Cundle believes people are less fearful of the topic of unidentified flying objects these days and would be interested in it.

I heard from a mother and daughter who saw a similar strange orange light over Lake Erie about three years ago that stopped them in their tracks as they took an evening stroll and prompted them to head back home.

They tell their story whenever the topic of UFOs comes up around the bon fire.

Strange things seen in the night sky likely all have an explanation, says Matt McCall with the Windsor Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

“It really could be aircraft,” he said, noting there are military air bases in Ohio and Michigan that do test flights of aircraft that are being developed and are not known to the general public.

“I do know they (U.S. military) will fly a lot of stuff over Lake Erie because that whole area doesn't have any other air traffic,” he added.

McCall has seen strange things over Lake St. Clair he figures have come from the Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan.

“I've seen things really, seemingly disappear, right in the distance, but it doesn't phase me,” he said,

When planets are seen close to the horizon it can create an optical illusion making them appear larger and brighter, McCall said.

He added the Earth's atmosphere can also create an optical illusion with planets and stars in the night sky.

“Venus is confused constantly for being a UFO for how bright it is,” he said. “When it's on the horizon, it can be huge.”

He said the same thing happens with the moon from time-to-time.

McCall has seen the atmosphere play optical tricks with Sirius, also known as the Dog Star.

“I've seen that thing appear to twinkle red to blue,” he said. “There's no red to it . . . but the atmosphere made it go red, blue, red, blue . . . like it was flickering.”

McCall said it is just an illusion, because the star returns to its normal blue colour as it rises higher in the sky.

Whatever the reason for these strange sights in the night sky, it sure can make for some interesting conversation.